Men’s soccer extends unbeaten streak to 9 games with win against Lafayette

The No. 22 Boston University men’s soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to nine games Saturday with a 3-1 win against Lafayette College at Nickerson Field.

The Terriers (10-2-1, 5-0 Patriot League) are coming off a 3-1 victory at Dartmouth College Tuesday that ended an eight-game unbeaten streak for the Big Green (7-4-1).

Returning to Patriot League play Saturday, BU was able to fend off Lafayette to win a very physical match. The Terriers were without three key players in this contest, but were able to overcome this loss with contributions from other key roleplayers.

Sophomore midfielder David Asbjornsson and junior defender Jeroen Blugh were out due to injury, while senior defender Kelvin Madzongwe missed the match after earning a red card against Dartmouth.

“We had a lot of people in different positions that haven’t played a lot this year, and they did a really good job,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “I’m very impressed with how they prepared the last couple days, how they responded to adversity and how they took care of business today.”

Madzongwe’s absence was especially tough for the Terriers, as he is coming off his second selection as the Corvias Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week this season. He has been a mainstay in the BU backfield this year and a key reason why the Terriers have compiled four shutouts over the nine-game stretch.

The loss of these defenders was especially felt during the first half, when the Leopards (5-7-2, 1-4 Patriot League) outshot the Terriers 7-4 and kept consistent pressure on the Terriers. However, it was BU that capitalized on its chances within the first 45 minutes of play.

During the first 20 minutes of the match, neither team could muster many scoring opportunities. BU senior forward Dominique Badji’s shot was blocked in the eighth minute, and BU defense blocked shots from junior Eric West and sophomore Ben Marks in the 13th and 15th minutes respectively.

The Leopards did a nice job of minimizing the impact of Badji throughout the match, as the forward only registered one shot on goal.

In the 25th minute, BU finally broke through, as junior midfielder Richie Robinson connected for his first goal of the season. This was also Robinson’s first goal in a Terrier uniform, as he played 27 games for Clemson University over the past two seasons.

“With Badji doing so well, he’s going to get double teamed a lot, so we’ve been trying to find ways in practice to build from the back better,” Robinson said. “We’re trying to build up our offense a little bit more so we don’t have to rely on him as much, and I feel like we did a good job of that today.”

The Leopards, who rank first in the Patriot League in fouls with 14.23 per game, were all over the Terriers throughout the afternoon. Senior midfielder Sanford Spivey was tripped by Lafayette sophomore Ryan Egan in the 32nd minute, and in the 81st minute, senior Chandler Fraser-Pauls was handed a red card.

Both offenses began to click in the second half, as there were a combined 15 shots over the final 45 minutes of play, with BU edging out the Leopards by a mark of 8-7 in that category.

Senior midfielder Jordan Barker gave the Terriers a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute with an impressive shot from 24 yards out off a free kick. This was Barker’s third goal on the year.

Soon after, Lafayette cut the lead to one when West connected on an unassisted shot in the 57th minute.

The final blow came from freshman midfielder David Amirani in the 80th minute, who connected from eight yards out for his fourth goal of the season. Badji and Barker assisted on the play.

Despite the nine game unbeaten streak, Roberts noted that the only thing the team is focusing on is their next game against Boston College on Tuesday.

“These guys are really grounded, and they’re just worried about the next game,” Roberts said. “When we play conference games, they’re worried about getting as many points as they can just to keep distance with everybody else in the league.”